Car-coupling



(No Model.)

H. I. PINK.

UAR COUPLING.

No. 328.303. Patented Oct. 13; 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY ISAIAHFINK, OF NEBRASKA, INDIANA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 328,303, dated October 13, 1885.

Application filed August 18, 1885. Serial No. 174,727.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY I. FINK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Nebraska, in the county of Jennings and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a front view of the end of acar provided with my improved coupling. Fig. 2is a vertical longitudinal section on line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail view of the draw-head,showing portions broken away; and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the coupling-links.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to that class of car-couplings in which an arrow-headed link is engaged within the draw-head by means of yielding catch blocks or plates; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of the same, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the end of the car, to the bottom of which the draw-head B is secured in the usual manner. This draw-head is formed with two vertical slots, 0 0, one at each side near the outer end, and with two pairs of perforated lips, D D, at the upper ends of the slots.

Two divergingly-curved arms, E E, are pivoted at their upper ends upon bolts F, passing through the perforated lips, and these arms have inwardly-projecting lips G, beveled upon the front sides of their inner edges, which lips project into the slots in the drawhead and nearly close the opening in the forward end of the draw-head. Two chains, H H, are secured to the ends of these arms, and are connected under the middle of the front of the car, being attached to a weight, I, the two chains and their weight serving to draw the arms and beveled plates together.

Chains J J pass upward from the ends of the curved arms and pass over pulleys K K,

(No model.)

j ournaled upon the front end of the car near the lower end of the same, whereupon the chains pass under pulleys L L, j on rnaled upon the front of the car inside of the other pulleys, and are connected together by means of a link, M, from the upper end of which pass two chains, N N. These chains are secured to the inner grooved and cam-shaped ends 0 of two levers, P P, which have their fulcra upon the front end of the car, and have their outer ends projecting at both sides of the car, having long bails Q, guiding their outer ends, the bails being secured upon the front of the car at the side edges of the same.

A central chain, R, passes upward from the uniting-link, and is secured to the cam-shaped grooved end S of an elbow-lever, T, which has its fulcrum upon the front of the car near its top, the said lever being operated from the top of the car.

The link U is formed with a central plate, V, from the faces of which project two arrowheaded bars, -W, which are inserted into the draw-heads of the couplings and retained by the beveled lips of the weighted arms, the said lips bearing against the shoulders of the arrow-headed bars and retaining them in the draw-heads.

If the coupling is to be used with a common pin-and-link coupling, one of the arrow-headed bars is dispensed with and a link-shaped bar formed in its place, this shape of link being a reserve link, which can only be used in connection with cars having pin andlink couplings.

It will be seen that the weighted arms may be drawn apart, leaving the aperture in the drawhead free, by depressing the two laterally-projecting levers or by tilting the upper lever, so that an arrow-headed link may be withdrawn from the draw-head-either one of the three levers operating the arms-while in coupling the link will enter the draw-head automatically, pushing the beveled lips and the arms aside, operating against the gravity of the weight, which serves to draw the arms together. It follows that the upper lever will be dispensed with in platform or gondola cars, being only used upon boX-cars,and that in passenger-cars the side levers may be dispensed with and the elbow-lever fulcrumed upon the lower ends of the curved arms by means of chains drawing the said arms together, as

and for the purpose shown and set forth.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head having two slots, one at each side of its mouth, and having perforated lips at the upper ends of the slots, two divergingly curved arms pivoted with their upper ends between the perforated lips and having inwardly-projecting lips beveled upon the front sides of their edges projecting into the slots,

chains secured to the ends of the arms and connected by a weight, chains secured to the ends of the arms and passing over pulleys to the center of the front of the car, a link connecting the chains and having two chains passing laterally and one chain passing upward, two levers pivoted upon the front of the car and having the laterally-passing chains attached to their camshaped inner ends and having their outer arms projecting at the sides of the car, and an elbow-lever having the upwardly-passing chain attached to its bent camshaped end and having its upper end projecting to the top of the car, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affiXed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY ISAIAH FINK.

WVitnesses:

SONNIE E. JoHNsoN, MARY E. J OHNSON. 

